Sims 4 to End Support of 32-Bit Systems in June

As they say, all good things must come to an end, and for The Sims 4, that time will be in June (at least for 32-bit operating systems). According to a post on the EA Answers forum by Community Moderator EA_Mai, “as of June 2019, we will no longer support The Sims 4 on Non-Metal Mac OS machines or PC 32-bit Operating Systems.” The game, which as been around since 2014, is trending towards more updated technology according to the post. “We regularly evaluate our technologies, and to continue growing, improving, and optimizing the game, we have made the decision to retire 32-bit support.”

The way the post was worded, it seemed as though Apple’s newest graphics technology, called Metal, is what spurred the change. EA has decided to embrace the change on Apple’s part and update to accommodate their new technology. After it was determined that they were ready to make the jump from OpenGL, Apple’s previous graphics tech, to Metal, it was also decided to retire support for 32-bit operating systems on PC as well. Players who are unable to upgrade to a supporting Metal OS or 64-bit OS will be pleased to hear that their Sim family has not abandoned them.

When support for the non-Metal and 32-bit OS ends in June 2019, EA will be releasing The Sims 4: Legacy Edition, which will allow players on those OS to continue playing the game. According to the Legacy Edition FAQ, found on the same page below the original announcement, save games from the current edition of The Sims 4 will transfer into the Legacy Edition. The new edition will not be available to new players, only those who already own a copy of the original game. Once the edition releases, there will be instructions on the page on how to download the game and import save files.

While it’s great to see that EA is not completely abandoning their current player base for future tech, it does come with drawbacks. The Sims 4: Legacy Edition will not receive any additional content or bug fixes. In addition to the tapered support, any game content released after February 2019 will not be included in the new edition, though content released between September 2, 2014 and February 26, 2019 will still be available for purchase and can still be accessed in-game. While the post claims that an advancement in technology is the reason for the switch, we can’t help but wonder if it’s really retribution for all those poor Sims made to go swimming and mysteriously had their exit ladder removed.